Chunauti Scheme

Chunauti Scheme is a Delhi Government initiative that came into existence in 2016. The scheme aims to improve the quality of education and determine the rate at which students drop out of school. There was huge criticism against the Chunauti Scheme as the parents and guardians of the students called it discriminating against them.

The scheme initiates student segregation based on learning ability. It categorises them into different sections based on their ability to learn Hindi, English, and Maths. The scheme is said to help educate students appropriately and focus on weak students. However, parents argued that such segregation develops an inferiority complex in them.

What Is Chunauti Scheme?

This scheme was launched in 2016 by the Delhi Government, headed by Arvind Kejriwal. Maneesh Sisodia was in the Directorate of Education at that time in Delhi. The scheme was based on an education model by economist Abhijit Banerjee. The plan was to divide students into different groups based on their learning abilities and teach them accordingly. The scheme was said to help teachers to focus more on weaker students.

Government’s Take On The Scheme

• The Delhi Government was very ambitious regarding this education reform. 

• The scheme was proposed to provide special education and classes to students in Government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools based on their learning abilities. 

• Nobel Prize winner economist Abhijit Banerjee was the Government’s inspiration behind the scheme. 

• Abhijit’s work in Delhi proved beneficial to many students, and hence, his model was taken as a reference for this scheme. 

• The scheme was initially launched in 2016 to segregate students based on their learning abilities. 

• In 2018, the Government extended the scheme, and the Chunauti Scheme 2018 was launched.

• This scheme aimed to determine the learning capacity of students in classes 6 to 9.

• The weakest students will receive special attention from teachers to enhance their learning ability. 

• The aim was to help them score well in their class 10th exam in 2018.

Criticism Against The Chunauti Scheme 

• In 2019, criticism against the Chunauti Scheme led to a clash between the Delhi Government and parents of students. 

• The parents argued that the segregation led to the isolation of weak students, which was disrespectful and demeaning.

• The Parents Forum for Meaningful Education took the matter to Delhi High Court.

• Advocate P S Sharda and Shubhankar Sharda defended the Parents Forum.

• The court asked the Government and the Directorate of Education of Delhi to submit a counter-affidavit. 

Parents Claim Against Segregation Based On Learning Ability

• The Parents Forum claims in the High Court that the scheme was against the laws that apply to students’ streamlined education in India.

• The Forum said that the scheme was against the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education, and the National Policy of Education.

• They claim that an imaginative test determines students’ learning ability.

• The conduction of tests, the result, and the segregation of students all lie in the hands of the Principal. He/she gets to decide which students go to which group of their own will.

• The segregation is based on an illegal and unscientific test. 

• The segregation labels students as superior (Pratibha) and inferior (Nishtha).

• The Forum said that the scheme forced students of the same school to sit in different sections, which led to disempowerment.

• The Forum also called the scheme a violation of inclusive education and blind pursuit of quality education.

• The Forum claimed that the weak students would be looked down on and discriminated against. This will lead to unhappiness and an inferiority complex. 

• The segregation was said to create a divide among students and cultivate hatred. 

• The Forum called the scheme delusional and said it causes more harm than good.

• They said that the students are not guinea pigs on whom the Government can experiment because of their educational shortcomings. 

Government’s Claim In Favour Of Segregation Based On Learning Ability

• The Government opposed the criticism of the Chunauti Scheme by all means.

• The Government told the court that segregation was to help teachers teach children in a way they could easily and effectively understand. 

• The Government put forward the claim that segregation took place within a class to determine the foundational learning ability of the students.

• The Government said that the segregation would help the teachers teach as they would not have to deal with students with varying capabilities in the same class.

• The scheme will benefit the students who need more focus and make accumulated learning fruitful.

• The scheme’s objective is to help children who find it difficult to pass class 9th and have to drop out.

• The scheme will have teachers work intensively on students’ abilities from class 6th. This will give them an extended learning period.

Conclusion 

The Delhi Government launched Chunauti to increase education by providing focused education to students. Determining their learning ability was a way of deciding on different ways to teach them according to their abilities. But the criticism against the Chunauti Scheme increased as the segregation led to an increase in inferiority complex among students. The isolation of weak students was claimed to lower their self-confidence and subject them to discrimination. The Parents Forum for Meaningful Education pointed out the drawbacks of the scheme. Hence, the case was taken to the Delhi High Court.